Let’s be honest – there are some days working in HR you feel you can’t please anyone.

It wasn’t until I started to question whether HR really pleased anyone that I hit on that lightbulb moment: is HR about to be cancelled and if so, will we deserve it?

Ok, so I will put my cards on the table early doors.  I have worked in HR over 25 years and I have to admit some of my worst management experiences have come from within my own HR teams; either from my direct line managers or from the HR Managers I was leading.  People are still shocked by this revelation and some senior HR professionals have even questioned the validity of my evaluation.  But I am going to reiterate it: HR is full of bad managers.  Now we shouldn’t be surprised by this, we are after all human.  However, whilst we preach how we must all motivate and engage with our employees to get the most out of them, we continue to be complicit with managers and organisations that fail to live up to even their own values.  

I’ve worked for organisations that have had world class mental health initiatives but behind closed doors very senior HR managers failed to show any real compassion for employees who were failing to perform because of their mental health issues.  At these times, instead of advising managers what the minimum action is expected of them by the ACAS Code of Conduct shouldn’t HR be standing up as the moral compass of any business?  I believe this, and countless other examples of HR teams not standing up for company values, is the reason we are no longer trusted as a profession. 

Now maybe like me you’re a fan of Lucy Adams and her Disruptive HR approach or of Simon Sinek’s The Optimism Company.  You too might feel really motivated after reading one of their articles or watching their latest talk on YouTube.  Like me you may long to support leaders who lead from the front, have a clear purpose and actually live their company values, even behind closed doors.  And maybe you too long to work in a HR team that doesn’t just follow the status quo but is truly disruptive in the service it provides to its employees and their wider business.  I therefore want you to ask yourself when was the last time you actually put any of that great stuff in to action?  And if you haven’t, what’s stopping you?

I have worked for some wonderful organisations, with truly inspirational leaders.  It was those organisations that showed a genuine interest in their people, and that acted with kindness on a daily basis, that were the most inspirational to me. There are countless editorials, blogs and TED Talks about the differences of working expectations across the generations.  However, I believe that since the pandemic the vast majority of employees want the same thing: they want a better work life balance, they want to be treated with respect for being their authentic self, they want to work for an employer that has a purpose that speaks to them, and finally, but most importantly, they want to be treated with kindness.

As Simon Sinek states “when we work hard for something we don’t believe in it’s called stress.  When we work hard for something we love, its called passion.”  Are you still working in a business that makes you stressed on a regular basis?  Or are they motivating your passion?  If not, isn’t it time for a change?

Isn’t it time for HR to change?  Isn’t it time for HR to stand up and be its authentic self – admit it, you came into HR to work with people, to make a difference – but are you actually doing that?  If as a profession, we don’t all change, HR will be cancelled and we will deserve it. 

Now whilst people may have currently lost their faith in managers, and in HR in general, I don’t believe that everything is lost.  I am still 100% passionate about the difference that good HR teams can and should be making to our working lives, and I hope you are too.  We just all need to be that change to make a difference.